World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

VENEZUELAPOPULATION :Chelonia mydasNesting sites Scattered nesting has been recorded on the mainland, inFalcon, Miranda and Sucre, with most confirmed sites apparently in thelast-named; very sparse nesting occurs at Islas los Roques and unconfirmednesting has been reported on Isla Cubagua (between the mainland and IslaMargarita) (Pritchard, 1980). However, nesting of some significance isconfined to Aves Island (Pritchard, 1980; Pritchard and Trebbau, 1984).Aves is a small sandbar, some 520 m x 200 m in extent, somewhathourglass- shaped , located almost 500 km north of the Venezuelan mainland at15'40'N, 63036*W (Pritchard, 1980).Nesting numbers Nesting on the mainland and Islas los Roques is sparse,most observations being of scattered single tracks, or a very few nests.Numbers at Aves are variable between seasons and between nights within aseason: for example, 21 nests on 27 July 1980 but none 30 June-9 July;Pritchard (198Ab) cited an estimate of 750 nests on Aves in 1979, andprovisionally estimated that 200-300 may nest In a season. See also Table213. Figures supplied by Medina et al. (1987) indicate that from 1984 to1987 between 240 and 500 turtles were recorded nesting each year. It is notcertain whether this represents the total nesting for the whole island.They estimated that the total nesting population for Venezuela was 510-1410.Trends in nesting numbers Pritchard and Trebbau (1984) stated that theAves nesting colony had declined sharply in recent years and cited asequence of estimates of nightly nesting to substantiate this view; seeTable 213. These authors also cite a report by Dampier in the late 17thcentury that the species then nested in great abundance on "Isla Blanco" offthe coast of Venezuela, presumed to be the same as Isla Blanquilla, where nosignificant nesting has been reported in recent years.Table 213. Nesting emergences at Aves per night according to, Inhistorical order, Pinchon (1967), Brownell and Guzman (1974) and Laiz Blanco(1979) (all cited in Pritchard and Trebbau, 1984).Year period Nightly emergences1947 one week 150-2001972, 1973 peak season mean 221979 season mean 11Nesting season Nesting on Aves occurs from June or July through toAugust (Pritchard, 1980). On the mainland and Los Roques peak nesting isMay-September (Medina et al , 1987).Foraging sites Females tagged on Aves have been recovered at variouslocations in the Caribbean, mainly in the east (see next section).Venezuelan waters, notably the Gulf of Venezuela and the central Venezuelancoast, include foraging grounds for the C. mydas population nesting atTortuguero (Costa Rica) although this population most frequents feedinggrounds in the western Caribbean, off Nicaragua, Panama and Colombia(Pritchard, 1980).551